𝗜 𝗪𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗔 𝗚𝗢 𝗛𝗢𝗠𝗘 ✦ 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁

𝗜'𝗺 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲

Aether was incredibly relieved that y/n was there to help them out with hiring.

If she wasn't, they probably would've run out of mora since Zhongli was so quick to agree to those horrendous prices.

"No problem. That'll be twenty thousand mora for a single trip. How does that sound?" the worker decided.

"Done-" Zhongli began to say but didn't get to finish, y/n slapping a hand over his mouth to stop him from talking.

"How about we go for ten thousand?" y/n said quickly, "Since you owe me half of the pay you got for that job you had me do in your place since you were slacking off that day--"

The worker blinked before suddenly getting a bit panicky, "Hey, hey, hey! Y-You don't have to say it so loud...! Ten thousand is fine!"

The folks they were going to owed her favors anyways so the group of four managed to cut down on the prices that they were being charged.

"Y/n? How come you're so good at bargaining and so many people owe you?" Paimon asked as they were making their way to the last worker.

"Oh. I did a lot when I first got to Liyue, just so I could get my own place and I wouldn't have to rely on the Qixing for help." y/n explained, smiling sheepishly, "Plus, I used to have to negotiate a lot when I was small. My friend and I didn't have a lot of money and taking care of ourselves plus my friend's sister was rough. We had to learn to work hard and grab every opportunity we were given. Even if it meant sacrificing our physical health or sleeping hours."

Aether tilted his head, "What about your parents? Did they not look after you?"

Y/n tensed, "Ah..."

'Crap, I said something, didn't I?' Aether thought warily, "You don't have to answer if-"

"I never knew my parents. Ayumu's Father wasn't capable of caring for him and Kaori. As for my adoptive parents, they passed away from old age." y/n said simply, "We were left to survive on our own until Gramps took us in and trained Ayumu and I to be his successors."

"Y/n..." Paimon murmured.

"Erm, the past is the past." y/n mumbled before waving a hand as she walked ahead, "Let's head back to Childe so we can give him his money back."

"Do we have to?" Paimon and Zhongli inquired in unison with nearly identical tones of reluctance, causing Aether to wheeze.

'Am I hearing things?' he wondered, shocked.

Y/n stopped in her tracks before turning her head to look at them.

"What."

"You know what? We should return the mora." Paimon said quickly.

"I agree." Zhongli chimed in.

Y/n frowned, 'They changed their minds rather quick. Wonder why that is.'

"Alright! Let's go!" she exclaimed.

~~~ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ•°*

"All finished then? Splendid!" Childe was saying after the trio returned, "Any leftover mora is yours to keep! A favor for the Fatui should never go unrewarded."

Zhongli had gotten distracted by something a couple blocks back and after many failed attempts of trying to get him to budge, y/n just decided to let him stay there.

"You think you can buy us off with some loose change?" Paimon demanded, "No way! Paimon demands to know when the next payment is coming!"

"Well, how does this sound: You give me the information I need, and maybe I'll leave the Northland Bank's vaults open and unattended for half an hour..." Childe laughed.

Y/n frowned, 'Like anyone would fall for-'

"What info do you need?" Paimon said a bit too eagerly for y/n's liking.

"What the hell!?" y/n accidentally said aloud, disbelief in her voice, 'This damn-'

"Paimon! Zip it!" Aether snapped.

"Huh? Aether, does that mean you know what he's after?" Paimon inquired.

Aether knew but y/n didn't. All that she had to go off was the fact that whatever information he needed was information y/n had. No worries.

The benefits of y/n's situation didn't outweigh the troubles but that was fine.

There wasn't much known about her.

And she was financially stable.

Bribing her for information with money would be like trying to push a boulder up a hill.

Torture wouldn't get her to cave either since she'd dealt with a lot of pain in her childhood. She's not numb to it but she's learned to endure it.

Well, it probably would work if an innocent person was being threatened but let's not think negatively.

"Are you forgetting what happened in Mondstadt?" Aether reminded Paimon who winced.

"Yikes... Signora..." Paimon murmured.

There was tension in the air which only seemed to thicken when Childe spoke again, "You three need to calm down. What's gotten into you, Aether? You too, y/n? The atmosphere got so tense all of a sudden."

Y/n knew the ginger wasn't foolish enough to start conflict out in public with so many people around. But if he were to do so...

'He's a Harbinger. You of all people wouldn't be strong enough to actually fight back.' that annoying little voice in the back of y/n's mind sang.

Y/n's initial firm expression turned into an uneasy one as she suddenly felt very small...

It was true.

Ayumu wasn't here to protect her.

Heck, y/n didn't even know if he was alive. Now that she thought about it, y/n was actually quite alone even with Aether and Paimon there.

Her sudden change in demeanor didn't go unnoticed by Childe. It was clear that if the right buttons were pressed, y/n would likely cave and just give in.

Though Childe didn't know much about the woman who had come from Inazuma, it wouldn't be too difficult to use the little bits of information he'd already managed to collect after their first few encounters.

And he'd definitely noticed that photograph she always carried around. The one with the boy and the girl who appeared to be siblings along with an elderly man.

He knew that the siblings were called Ayumu and Kaori, having "coincidentally" overheard y/n talking about them.

It was clear those three people meant something to y/n. Simply from how her hand would often drift to the bag where it was safely tucked away at all times and when she would take it out to stare at it with a fond smile.

Before Childe could speak, Zhongli conveniently showed up just in time. Bless his old soul...

"Next, we need some Everlasting Incense. For this, we need to go to Bubu Pharmacy, the finest pharmacy in all of—" Zhongli stopped, noticing how y/n was looking at the ground with an uneasy expression, "Is... everything okay?"

Y/n looked up immediately, instantly relieved at the sight of him, "There you are, Zhongli!"

"Everything is fine. I was just informing them that they need not return the surplus mora." Childe said simply before turning away, "Now if you'll excuse me, I must be going."

They all watched as he left.

Even though the ginger Harbinger was gone, y/n still felt rather wary about her situation.

Aether noticed this and tapped her on the shoulder, "Y/n? Are you okay?"

Y/n's brows raised a little before she tried to smile, "Hah, yes. I'm fine..."

'I'm not fine...' she thought miserably.